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NS NDP
June 7, 2015 - 6:52pm
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Dave Wilson launches leadership campaign for Nova Scotia NDP
http://globalnews.ca/news/2041037/dave-wilson-launches-leadership-campai...
Feb 28, 2016 is the date to elect the new leader
MLA Dave Wilson announces bid for NDP leadership
Wilson's entry into the leadership race brings the total number of candidates to three.
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River MLA Lenore Zann has already put her bid into motion.
Former Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MLA Gary Burrill, who previously confirmed his interest in the leadership, will launch his campaign at an event in Halifax on Thursday.
The party has been without a permanent leader since it was defeated in the last provincial election and Dexter, who also lost his seat, resigned.
Halifax Needham MLA Maureen MacDonald has been the acting leader since the last election, but she has said she is not interested in the role on a permanent basis.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1291723-mla-dave-wilson-announces-bid...
*Bump*
Online voting for the new NDP leader in NS has been underway for the past week. Its a ranked ballot: you have to vote 1-2-3 for the candidates if you want your ballot to count.
The Convention is this weekend: assembling tomorrow evening for council meetings, then a reception and appreciation of the interim leader, Maureen MacDonald. There will be one final round of candidate speeches on Saturday morning, with last minute voting over lunch, and results announced in the afternoon, followed by winners speech and we all go home.
I expect an election planning / readiness gathering will be convened in the next few months by whomever is the new leader.
According to the latest news, two-thirds of the 3,000 eligble members of the provincial party have already voted. And the Party expects another 10% or so to vote in the coming 24 hours.
A wholly unauthorised description of the three candidates:
Gary Burrill is a former back-bench MLA and United Church Minister, well known amongst old-school lefties for his work on The New Maritimes paper for many years through the 80s and 90s. He is playing the Bernie Sanders / Tommy Douglas role in this race.
Dave Wilson is a former cabinet minister in the Dexter Gov't and a long-standing MLA. He was a first responder medic / fireman before entering politics, and has the 'working man' touch. Widely seen as 'labour's choice' for the leadership, he carries the 'aura' of experience and the baggage of the previous gov't.
Lenore Zann: a bit of a wild card, Lenore is from the arts/film sector, was a back-bench MLA thru the Dexter years, and to the surprise of many, held on to her traditionally Conservative seat in the ensuing 2013 debacle. Initially seen as a bit of a 'lightweight', she has done well getting her message out over the past six months, and has since secured some key endorsements, including that of Alexa McDonough.
I am told that the smart money is on Dave Wilson, but as a new arrival don't actually have much insight on what's been happening across the province.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ndp-leadership-convention-zann...
Gary Burrill won!
Yup. we had a very good turnout online - over 74% of all membership voted, which was claimed to be some sort of record. With the majority going to "The Change Candidate", - Burrill who does not currently have a seat in the legislature and who regularly quotes (channels) Bernie, Corbyn and Tommy Douglas in his speeches.
It was 1. Burrill / 2. Zann / 3. Wilson in the first round, with Wilson's votes then putting Burrill over the top in the second round.
It will be interesting to see now how the Party - and the Province - responds: presumably Burrill will spend much of the next 12-18 months 'on the road' trying to get the grassroots re-mobilised and re-energised in advance of the next election.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ndp-leadership-nova-scotia-zan...
Should be an interesting election. When is it?
We have no fixed election legislation in Nova Scotia, - so its a bit of a mug's game trying to guess. The last election was October 2013, so sometime in 2017 would be most likely. Which will give Burrill a year to establish a stronger public presence and persona - and to see if he can re-energise the NDP base.
I see that Chris Majka has a Rabble Blog on Burrill's election here: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/christophermajka/2016/02/nova-scotia-new...
Very good. I don't know a huge amount about Nova Scotia, though I do have a good friend from there. She's rather right leaning, so she generally strays Liberal. Her big gripe about the Nova Scotia NDP was that they didn't enforce back to work legislation on striking transit workers, which according to her hurt many low income people. So, ensuring workers have the right to strike is an act against low income people, apparently (an argument I heard by some against Toronto's mayor David Miller regarding his dealings with CUPE Local 416 (outside workers)). Anyway, I plan to get the book What I learned about politics : inside the rise--and collapse--of Nova Scotia's NDP government, to learn more of Nova Scota and the NDP's rise and fall from power there.
Good luck in the next election!
There were two books written from an NDP perspective after the fall of the Dexter Gov't. The one you cite is by Graham Steele, who was Finance Minister for much of the time the NDP was in office. (He's now a CBC pundit.) The book is a discouraging (some say cynical) look at the practice of politics in this day and age: he speaks to the 'theatre' of the Legislature (ie nothing of substance ever actually happens there), the centralisation of power behind the closed door of the Premiers Office (remember, - he was the Finance Minister - and HE felt marginalised), and the zero room to manoeuvre that a (have-not) provincial gov't (carrying a debt) actually has to do anything substantively progressive. So politics comes down to daily communications games with the media which is all in the hand of professional (if not particularly skilled) spin doctors. As regards the flock of newly elected and enthusiastic local MLAs, well, they simply earn their keep helping constituents engage with gov't administration, - more often than not by pointing them to the appropriate municipal or federal offices. So not a particularly uplifting call to arms ... but not wholly unbelievable either, IMHO.
A more critical and policy focused book was then written (partly in response to Steele's effort) by Howard Epstein who comes from the more progressive wing of the party, and remained a backbench MLA through the NDPs time in office, despite many years prior experience as the well-respected head of the province's main environmental group, the Ecology Action Centre. His book "Rise Again: Nova Scotia's NDP on the Rocks" is more substantive policy-wise and leaves the reader with a little more hope that a better world is indeed possible. As a big supporter of Gary Burrill, it will be interesting to see if Epstein continues to play an engaged leadership role.
Thanks sherpa-finn, I'll get that one from the library as well. Regarding your description of Steele's cynicism, it sounds similar to thoughts I myself have had. It just seems that provinces don't have that much financial clout. The federal government is where the money and clout is, which is why I was so disappointed with the last federal election result. Still, I'm not completely cynical about provincial politics, so I look forward to checking out Rise Again: Nova Scotia's NDP on the Rocks as well.
#FeelTheBurrill
Gary's interview with CTV's Steve Murphy -
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=818953&binId=1.1145518&playlistP...
I hope he gets some media training quite frankly. He reminded me of a boring university professor giving a lecture and was a bit awkward.
Remains to be seen if this leftward lurch will fly with most voters. May tickle the fancy of party members but we'll see if the general voting public is excited by it. I suspect they won't and may relegate the NS NDP to even more marginal status. Promising the moon and not saying how you'll pay for it except "we already pay for it in other ways" will be something new to try with voters. Will it work? I suspect not.
Gary's biggest challenge will be to win a seat in the next election. His old seat is traditional Conservative territory. They won it by over 1000 votes in 2013. Gary barely placed second. Will he run there? Or will he try for a Halifax seat that he has little connection to but more winnable for the NDP. I don't see a Halifax riding that is a good fit for him that he could easily win. Maybe Halifax Chebecto. I don't know.
Gary also tends to talk over people's heads which is a huge problem when you're a politician and a leader wanting to be Premier of NS.
What Gary has going for him a is dislike of Stephen McNeil and Jamie Baillie not connecting. However, while the Premier's ratings are mediocre, the Liberal brand is extremely strong. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see another Liberal majority.
But that is exactly what Justin Trudeau did in the federal election and look at how well it worked for him!!
IMHO, it was all about rejecting "Dexterism"...
True in a sense, Stockholm. However, in addition to Trudeau's personal appeal which Gary doesn't have, he targeted a lot of his stuff to the middle class. Gary is an old school socialist running on eliminating poverty for example. Worthy goal and should always be something a government works toward. But does that win elections?
And while Trudeau lied about his costing, he at least said "this is how much it will cost".
And "Dexterism" got the NS NDP elected. I don't think they lost in 2013 because they weren't left enough. Lots of other screw ups led to that.
I don't live in Nova Scotia and i don't claim to be an authority but FWIW, my impression of what sank the Dexter gov't was that people voted NDP expecting a more economically and socially progressive government that would do bold new things...instead they got very dull government that seemed focused on balancing the budget and nothing else. By the end of their term there was literally NOTHING they could point to as a signature achievement for the first NDP government in Nova Scotia...except cuts to education, an HST hike and a supposedly balanced budget.
The BC NDP was in power for just one term in the early 70s, but if three and half years they made massive changes like the Land bank, ICBC and many other policiues that proved irreversible and are now permanent fixtures of the political landscape. The Dexter government in contrast left no legacxy whatsoever. nothing. nada. No wonder people voted them out.
I think they were too cautious and too focused on balancing the budget in a specific time period. That said, they inherited a huge mess. A $1.3 billion deficit that was originally pegged at around $200 million.
Dexter ran on a very limited platform including "living within our means". But somehow voters lurched to the left after he was elected?
There were many progressive items accomplished. People over $150,000 had their taxes increased. Low income seniors were taken off the income tax rolls. Affordable Living Tax Credit was introduced. Province's first Mental Health Strategy created. First Affordable Housing Strategy. Children's Dental Care was expanded. Emergency room wait times were cut. List goes on and on.
As for education, it was a 1.65% reduction when we had 10,000 fewer students over the last decade and 2% fewer students per year. Education funding was actually at the highest per capita.
Personally, I don't think Dexter, who governed in the mold of Gary Doer, was cut out to go on the attack and fight for his job. He became premier because people liked him and trusted him. He was your favourite uncle type. After the expense scandal, he became just another politician that was in it for himself. Then the Liberals got their act together, focus grouped and polled what would move votes regardless what if it was doable or not, and spent a quarter of a million dollars in attack ads against us. Our response? Silence. We sat back as the Liberals went to town defining the actions of the government. By the time we did respond, we did it in such a poor way and far too late. I still shake my head at that.
Stockholm, this was the platform the Dexter NDP ran on in 2009 and won on...
Create the secure jobs Nova Scotia’s economy needs
Keep emergency rooms open and reduce health care waits
Ensure more young people stay and build a life in Nova Scotia
Take the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) off home energy
Fix rural roads and keep communities strong
Give seniors options to stay in their homes and communities longer
Live within the province’s means
One of the main reasons that the NDP has a hard time winning on the issue of poverty reduction is that the Manitoba and Saskatchewan provincial sections permitted their citizens to have among the highest poverty rates in the country for a long time.
There is something to be said for the argument that in Nova Scotia, provincial elections are not won by parties so much as they are lost by sitting governments. Darryl's success was in positioning the NDP over six or more years as a moderate, responsible and credible Opposition Party that should be given serious consideration by the voting public, if and when the sitting gov't (and other Opposition Party) imploded.
Which they both proceeded to do. And then the electorate did their part.
The task facing Burrill feels a little different: there is a huge need to re-energize the party membership and supporters such that the NDP can reclaim much of its electoral base next time round (ie those would mainly be seats in and around Halifax). If that can be accomplished in 2017, it is possible that NS returns to a minority gov't situation and then its a whole new ball game as to political strategy and positioning.
The NDP's strategy in that scenario will very much depend upon whether Burrill is successful or not in personally winning a seat in the Legislature.
Why don't i see "increase the HST by two points" in that list?? It seems to me that they never recovered from that move.
Also, the NDP often falls for this CRAZY idea that your election platform has to be a responsible plan for government. NO! Election platforms are about winning elections. They are to be discarded afterwards. The Liberals are often god at winning elections because they don't make mistake an election platfomr for good public policy. They just say ANYTHING they need to say to win the election and they worry about the consequences afterwards - as a result they are in power and the NDP is not.
They won on that, Stockholm. So I guess some responsible plans do win.
Regarding the HST, they didn't. We also didn't know the $200 million deficit was $1.3 billion. However, polls still had them in the lead after the HST increase. When they took a nosedive? You may find this shocking but it was when the Liberals ran a quarter of a million dollars in attack ads BEFORE the election was called. And the NS NDP sat back and just smiled. I know... who knew something like that could happen, right?!?!?!?!
Even promising the moon you still need to say how much it will cost. Even if it's a lie like Trudeau's. This "we already pay for it" won't fly with voters and I hope saner minds prevail on that talking point.
No because most elections are won on pocketbook issues that appeal to the broadest electorate. Like Trudeau's middle income tax cut. And even then, it appealed to people who weren't middle class because most working class and poorer people don't necessarily think themselves as living in poverty.
It's like our national childcare program. Great program and truly needed. But it spoke mostly to parents with kids under five with certain incomes no one else. And it didn't speak to anyone in QC. Why? Didn't have any impact on them personally in their eyes. And that's how most voters cast their ballots when it comes to election platforms. What's in it for me and my family. That said there are lots of factors that go into what party wins an election but for the most part, thinking most voters vote for the common good is naive.
Those base seats you speak of came after Alexa. It was a fight to win three to four seats at the time under her leadership. Our real breakthrough came with Robert Chisholm. And I would venture to guess Gary Burill is no Robert but more like Alexa.
But it's telling when we wonder if he can win a seat or not...
"The deficit is larger than we expected" is just politician-speak for "we need an excuse to not carry out the platform on which we were elected so we can focus on enriching the elite special interest groups that we like."
Poverty is not a marginal issue here in Manitoba. Most people in Winnipeg and Brandon, if they don't live in poverty outright, they are damn close, and they know it. You try talking about politics with these people, they will roll their eyes at you and share their (well-founded) perception that nothing changes regardless of which party is in power. That is why there is a near direct correlation between your likelihood to vote in an election and your income.
True, however what I said points to widespread distrust about politicians and the promises they make. I'll also ask, if the Opposition is doing its job, how can it legitimately claim to be surprised upon finding out what the actual numbers are upon taking office? Remember when Harper claimed that there was a balanced budget? Nova Scotia Liberal MP Scott Brison called them out for using the same tactics that Mike Harris and Ernie Eves used to hide the deficit in Ontario. This is why Trudeau has the political wiggle room he needs to run a bigger deficit to get the economy going. The question this raises is, if Brison caught onto this, why didn't Mulcair and the then-official Opposition led by the NDP?